This invention relates to electrical connectors and more specifically to crimp connectors.
Crimping is a pressure method for mechanically securing a terminal, splice or contact to a conductor. A crimping tool is generally used to physically compress (deform) a crimp barrel around the conductor in order to make the electrical connection. It is desirable for crimping to be performed in a single axial operation using a tool that is appropriately sized for the conductor and contact barrel.
Referring to FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B, a crimp connector 10 having a barrel 22 into which a wire is inserted is shown. The crimp connector 10 may include a fastener 12 (e.g., a rolled rail fastener) attached to the conductive barrel 22 by a transition 14.
A user inserts a wire (or other conductive element) into the conductive barrel 22 and uses a crimping tool (not shown) to permanently attach the wire to the connector 10. Referring to FIG. 1B, force applied by the crimping tool crimps and deforms the conductive barrel 22 from its original cylindrical shape (22a) to a flattened oval shape (22b). When the barrel 22 is crimped, the volume enclosed by the barrel 22 does not reduce to the volume of the wire (e.g., the contact point 18, 19 does not change significantly) which can be problematic, particularly when a wire of smaller gauge is used with the connector. Specifically, spaces 23 between the wire and conductive barrel can reduce the contact area, resulting in compromised electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and mechanical strength between the wire and connector 10.